Slight increases in July help push Houston towards a better supply-demand balance.

Houston’s market continued to grow in July, pushing through another month of positive sales, according to a new Houston Association of Realtors report.

Growth in the city was limited, but increases to overall inventory, which now stands at a 3-month supply, is serving to alleviate some of the persisting demand, helping to further ease price gains down to more balanced levels. Still, prices in July hit record highs for the month, with sales among homes priced $250,000 and higher driving the steep increases.

As testament to Houston’s relentless demand, days on the market, which refers to the number of days it takes a home to sell, fell to 45 – another record low.

Gains on Gains

HAR’s report goes on to further dissect the city’s housing market, finding that:

• Single-family home sales rose one percent year-over-year, bringing total sales to 7,769 units.
• Helping to boost inventory from June to July, Houston’s new listings for single-family properties rose 5.5 percent, which amounts to 10,390 properties.
• Average single-family home prices took a considerable 6.4 percent year-over-year leap forward to more than $277,000, and the median price rose 6.8 percent to $202,000.

Moving in the Right Direction

In recent months, Houston’s market has remained strong. However, the city’s consistently low inventory levels have proven insufficient to wholly satisfy demand. HAR Chair Chaille Ralph believes that this past month’s increases may represent a shift in the market.

“July did not bring the most dramatic sales performance we’ve ever seen, but the numbers are headed in the right direction,” he says. “We are beginning to see a steady resupply of housing inventory with proportionate sales and pricing gains, all of which translates to a healthier real estate market.”

It’ll be interesting to see if inventory continues building in the months to come, but considering demand, it seems like the natural trajectory.